Related papers: Super Star Clusters in M82
X-ray observations of clusters at different redshifts are presented and compared. For the nearest cluster -- the Virgo cluster -- we show a comparison of the galaxy distribution and the distribution of the intra-cluster gas. Although the…
Star cluster formation is a major mode of star formation in the extreme conditions of interacting galaxies and violent starbursts. Young clusters are observed to form in a variety of such galaxies, a substantial number resembling the…
We find a remarkably enhanced production rate in star clusters (relative to the field) of very short period, massive double-white-dwarf stars and of giant-white dwarf binaries. These results are based on N-body simulations performed with…
We present multiband photometric observations of three spiral galaxies selected in a sample suited for the study of young stellar groupings and their relationship with the parent galaxy and the galactic environment. Star forming regions…
We present multicolor photometry of bright star cluster candidates in the nearby starburst galaxies NGC 3077 and NGC 5253, observed with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 in both broadband (F300W, F547M and F814W)…
The most massive galaxies in the present-day Universe are found to lie in the centres of rich clusters. They have old, coeval stellar populations suggesting that the bulk of their stars must have formed at early epochs in spectacular…
The recent discoveries of nearby star clusters and associations within a few hundred pc of the Sun, as well as the order of magnitude difference in the formation rates of the embedded and open cluster populations, suggests that additional…
We present the results of a recent near-infrared survey of the fields surrounding a large sample of intermediate-mass pre-main-sequence (Herbig Ae/Be) stars. While late-type Be and Ae stars are never associated with conspicuous groups of…
X-ray observations have shown that the chemical abundance in the starburst galaxy M82 is quite rich in Si and S compared with oxygen. Such an abundance pattern cannot be explained with any combination of conventional Type I and II supernova…
Recent observational results on high spatial resolution images of ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIGs) have revealed very luminous, young, compact, and heavily obscured super star clusters in their central regions, suggested to be…
Recent surveys of star forming regions have shown that most stars, and probably all massive stars, are born in dense stellar clusters. The mechanism by which a molecular cloud fragments to form several hundred to thousands of individual…
Recent observations with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have revealed that a large fraction of late-type (Sc and later) spiral galaxies harbor a bright, compact stellar cluster in their dynamical centers. Statistics of the mass, age, and…
We present a deep image of the radio galaxy MRC 1138-262 taken with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) at a redshift of z = 2.2. The galaxy is known to have properties of a cD galaxy progenitor and be surrounded by a 3 Mpc-sized structure,…
Little is known about the origins of the giant star clusters known as globular clusters. How can hundreds of thousands of stars form simultaneously in a volume only a few light years across the distance of the sun to its nearest neighbor?…
The formation of massive stars is an outstanding problem in stellar evolution. However, it is expected that they are (predominantly) born in heirarchical environments within massive young clusters, which in turn are located within larger…
We have begun a survey of the molecular gas surrounding 31 young clusters in order to investigate the link between environment and the resulting cluster. We present here a preliminary comparison of two clusters in our sample: GGD12-15 and…
The evolution of young compact star clusters is studied using N-body simulations in which both stellar evolution and physical collisions between stars are taken into account. The initial conditions are chosen to represent R136, a compact…
The central regions of galaxies show the presence of massive black holes and/or dense stellar systems. The question about their modes of formation is still under debate. A likely explanation of the formation of the central dense stellar…
The discovery of young globular clusters in merging galaxies and other environments provides an opportunity to study directly the process of globular cluster formation. Empirically it appears that globular cluster formation occurs…
Nuclear star clusters are found at the centers of most galaxies. They are the densest stellar systems in the Universe, and thus have unique and interesting stellar dynamics. We review how common nuclear star clusters are in galaxies of…